Cellular or mobile telephones has become smaller in size and more importantly of a reduced width, however the demand for additional features and capabilities has increased, including a demand for improvements to the current features or functionality. Further, components required for new or improved features and functionality require additional space within the telephone housing, without increasing the size of that housing. In fact, based on the industry and consumers' desire to reduce the size of the housing in certain instances, the functions of two or more components have been combined to provide the required space, in certain instances. Along those lines, electrodynamic transducers, and in particular ultrasonic transducers allow for the requested functionality in mobile telephones, among other applications, while in instances, reducing the size of the housing of the telephone.
It is well known that transducers are devices that convert an energy from one form to another, and are useful in converting energy from a multitude of forms, such as electrical, mechanical, electromagnetic, chemical, acoustic, and thermal energy, among others.
Specifically, ultrasonic transducers convert electrical signals into ultrasound waves, or vice versa. Ultrasonic transducers typically utilize a transducer which can generate sound waves in the ultrasonic range, above 18 kHz, by turning electrical energy into sound, then upon receiving the echo turn the sound waves into electrical energy which can be measured and displayed.
One of the issues facing the mobile telephone industry is that to ultrasonic transducers are dedicated to the ultrasonic range, and not designed to work in the audible range. As such, the slit pattern of the sound port found within these components maximizes the ultrasonic range output only.
In a typical case where there is a desire for an extended working range covering both ultrasonic and audible ranges in a mobile phone, an ultrasonic lens is required to be installed in the device. Given the space constraints inside a mobile phone housing mentioned herein and the ever increasing desire for smaller and fewer components, it would be beneficial to provide an apparatus, method and a system for adding a ultrasonic lens functionality to a device, wherein no additional equipment or components are required.
It would be advantageous to provide such an ultrasonic transducer, or an ultrasonic lens, that is configured to generate an extended working range covering both ultrasonic and audible ranges to be used in state of the art mobile communication systems.